Auto-starter.



E. MEFFERD.

AUTO STARTER.

APPLICATION FILED on. 31. 1914.

Patented Apr. 25,1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

E. IVIEFFERD.

AUTO STARTER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT-31.1914.

Patented Apr. 25, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

guessze eeg EARL MEJFFERD, 01 DENVER, COLOO.

AUTO-STARTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 25, 191%..

Application filed October 31, 1914:. Serial No. 869,532.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EARL MEFFERD, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city and county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Auto-Starters; and I do declare the'following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in engine starters for automobiles, my object being to provide a purely mechanical starter which shall be adapted to impart the desired movement to the engine shaft for starting purposes by a single act or movement of the starting device.

Heretofore, so far as I am aware, mechanical starters have been defective from the fact that sufficient movement to insure the starting of the engine cannot be obtained without making the operating lever so long as to be unsightly and impracticable. Consequently,mechanical starters or those actuated entirely manually, are useless in aolconnection with engines. except those that are comparatively small. There is believed to be an important demand for a mechanical starter capable of starting engines of the largest machines, by comparatively little manual effort, whereby any chauffeur may easily start the largest engine.

My improvement is intended to overcome the difficulties heretofore experienced in starters of this character and to this end, it includes a spiral bar having endwise movement between two bearings spaced in opposing relation on opposite sides of the bar, the spacing being'sufficient to allow the flat portion of the bar beyond the spiral formation to pass freely therebetween. These bearings are preferably antifrictional, and are mounted upon the wheel which is connected in operative relation with the engine shaft for starting purposes. The wheel upon which these bearings are mounted is preferably a sprocket. which is connected by means of a chain with a similar sprocket rim having a ratchet and pawl connection with the engine shaft toprovide for the kick or movement resulting from back firing of the engine cylinders.

The spiral bar is preferably flat beyond the operating portion thereof, or the part which engages the antifrictional bearings for imparting rotary movement to the sprocket, one extremity (being the rear end, as shown in the drawing) being connected with a lever which may be operatedby the foot or hand, as may be desired. In the drawing, this lever is arranged to be actuated by the foot of the chauffeur for impartmg the starting movement to the shaft by moving the spiral bar in an endwise direction. I prefer to employ a spiral spring for imparting the reverse movement to the spiral bar in order to return the latter to its normal position after each starting act.

Having briefly outlined my improved construction, I will proceed to describe the same in detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which is illustrated an embodiment thereof.

In this drawing, Figure 1 is a top plan view of the front portion of the chassis of an automobile, showing the engine mounted thereon and disclosing my engine starter mounted in operative relation. Fig. 2 is a sectional view shown on a larger scale, illustrating the spiral bar and the parts connected therewith for performing the starting function. Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3, Fig. 1, looking toward the left, the parts being shown on a larger scale, and partly broken awav to disclose the ratchet and pawl construction. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view disclosing the rear portion of the spiral bar, the same being shown mounted in operative relation on the body of the machine, a fragment only of which is illustrated.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the views.

Let the numeral 5 designate the chassis of an automobile; 6 the engine and 7 the engine shaft. Mounted upon one of the frame bars 8 of thechassis by means of suitable supports 9, is a tubular casing 10 upon the forward end of which is journalcd a sprocket wheel 12 having a hub member 13 arranged on one side thereof and secured thereto by means of bolts 14. This hub member loosely engages the forward end of the casing 10, and is recessed as shown at 15 to receive a collar 16, which is threaded upon the casing 10, or otherwise suitably secured thereto. On the opposite side of the sprocket wheel from the hub member 13,

andmounted in angle plates 17 secured to the sprocket wheel, are two antifrictional devices, as rollers 18, whose surfaces are preferably longitudinally curved or oval, the said rollers being spaced to receive a bar 19 provided with a spiral portion 20 of sufficient length to impart the necessary rotary movement to the sprocket wheel 12 when the said bar is moved in an endwise direction.

Upon the rear support 9 for the casing 10, are located two similar rollers 21, which are spaced to receive the bar and are adapted to accurately guide the same in an endwise shaft 7, by a chain'35.

direction during the starting movement of the bar. Forward of the bearing or support 9 and surrounding the flat extension 22 of the bar, is a'spiral spring 23 whose forward extremity engages the adjacent support or bearing 9, while its rear extremity engages a stop collar 2-l mounted on the bar and held in operative relation therewith by means of a key 25 or other suitable means. The rear extremity of the bar is pivotally connected with an operating lever 26. This leveris fulcrumed on the body of the machine as shown at 27, and connected by means of a bolt or pin 28 with. the rear extremity of the bar. The said bolt or pm passes through a vertically disposed slot 29 formed in the bar and fitted in an opening formed in the lever. The upper extremity of this lever is adapted as shown at 30, to receive-the foot of the chauffeur and is so arranged as to be conveniently accessible to him for operating purposes.

The sprocket wheel 12 is connected with sprocket rim 31, surrounding the engine This sprocket rim is connected with the engine shaft by a ratchet hub 32 keyed to the said shaft, as shown at 33, gravity pawls 34 being mounted on the rim and engaging teeth or offsets 36 formed on the hub. This construction causes the engine shaft to rotate with the ratchet rim for starting purposes. while allowing the foot upon the extremity 30 of the lever 26 said rim to rotate in the opposite direction in the event that the engine back fires. resultingin what is termed a Fkick.

From the foregoing description. the use and operation of my improved engine starter will be readily understood. Assuming that the bar 19 is inthe position illustrated in the drawingtsee Figs. 1 and 2), if the chauffeur desires to start the engine, he will place his and move the same in the direction indicated by the arrow heads in Fig. 4, whereby an endwise movement is imparted to the bar 19, causing its spiral member 20 to passbetween the rollers 18 of the sprocket wheel 12, thus imparting rotary movement to the.

sprocket wheel, and a -similar rotary action to the sprocket rim 31, and consequently, to the engine shaft by virtue of the ratchet and be imparted to the engine shaft, if desired,

and this may be accomplished by the exercise of a small amount of power on the part of the chauffeur. In other words, several complete rotations may be imparted to the engine shaft for starting purposes by the exercise of such manual power as may be easily exerted by anyone capable of operating a machine of this character.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is,

1. An engine starter comprising in combination the engine shaft, a wheel, a ratchet and pawl connection between said wheel and said shaft, a secondwheel and flexible device connecting the two wheels, an endwise movable spiral bar or helix, and an operative connection between said bar and said second wheel whereby, as the bar is actuated in an endwise direction, the second wheel is rota ted to impart rotary movement to the engine shaft.

2. The. combination with an engine and its shaft, of a spiral bar or helix mounted adjacent the engine and adapted to have an endwise movement, a wheel perforated to receive the bar and having opposing spaced parts between which the spiral portion of the bar is adapted to pass to impart rotary movement to the wheel, and an operative connection between said wheel and the engine shaft for starting purposes.

3. The combination with an engine and its shaft, of a spiral bar or helix mounted adjacent the engine and adapted to have endwise movement, a wheel perforated to receive the bar and carrying spaced antifrictional devices between and in contact with which the spiral portion of the bar is adapted to pass, whereby rotary movement is imparted to the 'wheel, and an operative connection between said wheel and the engine shaft, for engine starting purposes.

4. The combination with the engine and its shaft, of a spiral bar or helix mounted adjacent the engine and adapted to have endwise movement, means for manually imparting such movement in one direction, a spring for imparting the reverse movement, and an operative connection between the said bar and the engine shaft.

5. The combination with an engine and. its shaft, of a spiral bar or helix mounted to have endwise movement, means for manually imparting such movement to the bar in one direction, a spring for imparting the reverse movement, a wheel mounted to retion between said wheel and the engine shaft, for starting purposes.

6. The combination of a bar having a helical or spiral portion, a casing through which said bar is adapted to pass, a wheel mounted on the casing and perforated to receive the spiral or helical portion of the bar rollers mounted upon one face of the wheel adjacent the perforation and spaced to permit the bar to pass while imparting rotary movement to the wheel, a lever connected to manually impart endwise movement to the bar in one direction, a spring for imparting said movement in the reverse direction, and an operative connection between the said wheel and engine shaft.

7. An engine starter comprising in combination with the engine and its shaft, a hollow casing, a spiral bar or helix mounted to reciprocate therein, a lever connected with the said bar to impart movement thereto in one direction, a spring for imparting the reverse movement, a sprocket wheel perforated to receive the spiral or helical portion of said bar and provided with antifrictional devices arranged adjacent the perfortion of the wheel and spaced for the passage of the spiral portion ofthe bar, which directly engages said device to impart rotary movement to the Wheel, and an operative connection between the wheel and the engine shaft, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I alfix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EARL MEFFERD.

Witnesses:

MAZE' KERRY, A. EeEn'r OBRIEN. 

